Repairs Cost $318,000 At Governor's Mansion

Governor's Mansion Proves Budget Drain

An $80,000 contract awarded early this year for plumbing repairs at the state-owned governor's mansion has grown fourfold -- to a $318,000 renovation job -- and the work is still going on.

When the plaster walls and ceilings were opened up, the plumbing -- a jumble of copper, brass and galvanized iron pipes -- was worse than expected and was covered with asbestos, said officials at the state Department of Public Works, which is responsible for upkeep of the house in Hartford.

Most of the plumbing system was replaced. In addition, structural repairs were needed and electrical wiring had to be replaced because it was deemed dangerous and violated building codes.

The $318,000 bill is merely a first installment if the state is going to reverse five decades of decay at the 19-room, Georgian colonial built in 1909 and purchased in 1943 at a cost of $38,928.

Considering the state's budget problems and the tax increases enacted during Lowell P. Weicker Jr.'s first year as governor, public works officials are nervous when asked about spending at the Executive Residence.

They insist the work done so far was necessary, and they are planning to hire an architect within a month to study what should be done next.

Dennis F. Kerrigan, one of the department's deputy commissioners, acknowledged Thursday that further renovations would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more. Much of the wood on the exterior of the brick house is rotting.

Kerrigan and the governor's wife, Claudia, escorted a reporter on a tour of the residence Thursday. She was asked what she would say to taxpayers about the money that is being spent.

She pointed out that the house belongs to the taxpayers, not the governor.

"The choice is that you have a house or you don't have a house," she said. "Lowell feels that governors should live in their own homes. I'll give you his answer, and not mine." Shortly after his election, Weicker created a stir when he said he would rather live at his home in Greenwich.

When the governor's office was asked how it would justify the cost of the renovations to taxpayers, Avice A. Meehan, Weicker's press secretary, said, "Part of the answer is, very few homeowners would allow their own home to deteriorate to the extent that the residence has deteriorated. There was a belated recognition that work needed to be done." The mansion is more than a house. Weicker uses it for business, most notably for meetings this summer to try to break the budget impasse.

The house is also used for receptions by such groups as the Boy Scouts and the Salvation Army. At least six of those types of gatherings are scheduled before the end of the year. In addition, public tours can be scheduled, starting later this fall.

The mansion is set on five acres at the corner of Asylum and Prospect avenues, at the West Hartford town line, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Kerrigan estimated the value of the property at somewhere between $750,000 and $1 million. The house, which features a grand entrance hall, huge rooms and elegant woodwork, is three stories high and measures 76 feet by 46 feet.

The plumbing job undertaken this year is the first major maintenance project at the mansion since it was purchased by the state, said Kerrigan. He said he does not know why it was allowed to deteriorate for so long.

Nikki O'Neill, the wife of former Gov. William A. O'Neill, recalled Thursday that she wanted to begin renovating the house during the 1980s. She had an architect design a new kitchen and started a conservancy with the idea of appointing members who would raise money to help pay for the work. "But," she said, "my husband wouldn't let me do it." She said she is not sure why, but thinks he did not want the disruption of construction. "It was a terrible setup in the kitchen," she said.

The refrigerator dates from the 1930s and one of the burners on the stove caught fire recently while Claudia Weicker was cooking. "Everything breaks down," she said, "except for the refrigerator." "The kitchen has to function for the family, for official entertaining and for groups and organizations that have arranged to use the house," she said.

Two companies have offered to donate kitchen cabinets and counters if and when the state proceeds with renovations, she said, and other companies have made donations of materials for the renovation work.

Two of the mansion's nine bathrooms renovated during the plumbing project have floors of marble that was donated by a contractor, North Haven Ceramic Tile and Floor Covering of Wallingford, public works officials said. The company is one of the state's major suppliers of carpeting and one of its owners is Dominic Palumbo, secretary of the Democratic State Central Committee.

During the spring, Weicker issued an executive order reviving the dormant conservancy. No members have been appointed, but its account totals $1,798.